Category: soup

check you for ticks 

I felt something crawling down the side of my forehead… I lifted my hand up and grabbed it…  took one look and placed it in the sink and crushed it with the backside of a spoon that was in there…

I had a silent scream inside me but was in the middle of making a soup for supper and was on a time crunch so I put it out of my mind and continued on…

the old me would have thrown things, screamed, possibly cried and for sure freaked out on the farmer for the fact that we lived somewhere that had ticks…

I almost don’t even recognize this new version of myself… this is what having dogs, kids and living on a farm does to someone… nothing seems to startle me anymore…

a little background information – it was supposed to rain that night so I decided it was time to get my garden in…  we have a new little puppy, Winter, who was very excited to plant it with me…

my other two dogs tend to go on adventures and upon realizing the amount of ticks they were coming back to the yard with I promptly got them some medication that kills the ticks when they bite the dogs…  I’m pretty sure it is really terrible stuff but when it’s the option of 30 ticks on your dog or possible liver damage,  I chose the miracle pill for them…

my little puppy has a vet appointment coming up so I was waiting to chat with the vet about what to do for her…

as I began seeding the front of the garden, Winter had wondered off into the back of the yard where the longer grass and trees are… I was so absorbed in planting my Kohl Rabi that it did not occur to me she was frolicking around in prime ‘tick’ grounds…

upon her return to the garden plot, she was in a playful mood…  I was seeding potatoes by then and she was attempting to steal my potatoes from me…  I thought this was cute and adorable and decided to play along with her…

so we wrestled for the potatoes, me pushing and tickling her and her getting her nose and face in every hole I dug to place a potatoe in…  during this play time, I made the decision to head butt her a few times… I even growled at her for fun…

rubbing my head all over her face and ears and neck…  

looking back on this decision now I perhaps deserved the tick on my forehead… I perhaps was even willing a tick to be on my forehead…

mistakes were made… I shockingly still have much to learn about this farm life…

when my children arrived home, I was just about done making the soup and going to head to burn my clothes and have a shower…

I called to my 15 year old boy something that perhaps ruined a few country songs for him… “quickly come check me for ticks”…  the pale look on his face told me that perhaps I should have not ruined our already fragile teenager/mom relationship and should have enlisted the 8 year old… but I couldn’t trust her to be thorough enough…  he gave a quick check though my hair and behind my ears and then went to his room to daydream about moving away someday…

this soup is so delicious it was worth it for me to stick it out making it…  it was in the farmer’s lunch the next day and he texted me that next to Clam Chowder, this is the second favourite soup he has ever had…

I had seaweed in my one basket with sushi making supplies (this has not happened in years but I don’t think this stuff goes bad… I could be wrong)… so it was exciting to use it in a soup – similar to how you use a bay leaf…  to season the broth…

the dill flavoured olive oil I purchased at a school fundraiser tastes unreal… I drizzled it on the cauliflower and roasted it… the kids almost ate all of it off the pan before I could put it on the soup…

imagine a distraught 15 year old slurping this seaweed died broth and spilling it onto his white baseball pants right before we had to leave to go to a game…

I didn’t have to imagine it…

curry lentil coconut soup with charred cauliflower

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 carrots, chopped
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
  • 1 can unsweetened full fat coconut milk
  • 1 cup lentils (red or green)
  • 2 tsp mild curry powder
  • 3 inch strip kombu (dried seaweed)
  • 3 cups arugula or kale (stems removed)
  • 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1 head cauliflower, chopped

Directions:

  • in a soup pot, on medium/high heat, add oil, carrots, onion and salt
  • saute for 5 minutes and add garlic
  • add broth, coconut milk, lentils, curry powder and seaweed strip
  • cover and let simmer until lentils are soft
  • remove seaweed strip and add arugula and lime juice
  • serve with charred cauliflower spears on top
  • for the cauliflower, heat oven to 450 degrees
  • chop cauliflower and place on parchment covered baking sheet
  • drizzle olive oil (I loved the dill flavoured olive oil) on
  • sprinkle with salt and cumin
  • mix and spread out to bake
  • bake for 25 minutes

for a simple dessert (I had put these in the farmer’s suppers), cocoa coconut macaroons are easy and quick…

and when your entire world has been shaken by a tiny little tick, you need some simple dishes you can send out to the farmers…

as calm as I was, I am now considering telling my vet I lost one of the pills for my dogs and need another one… and consuming it myself…

if only they made pills for mosquitoes we’d be invincible!

cocoa coconut macaroons

 Ingredients:

  • 3 cups unsweetened coconut
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • 2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

  • in a bowl, combine ingredients
  • using a medium sized ice cream scoop, press coconut mixture firmly into the scoop and release onto a parchment lined baking sheet
  • bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes
  • macaroons should be slightly hard on the outside and soft inside
  • if you would like, melt some chocolate in the microwave and drizzle over the macaroons and sprinkle with salt

lunch dates with the farmer

number one reason I would never homeschool… out of a list of 87 reasons…

the farmer and I would have no peaceful lunch dates anymore…

(#2 was the fact that I would kill my children… murder them… if they couldn’t get to me first)

this is no criticism of homeschooling by any means…  there are so many reasons people homeschool (I’ve never contemplated them but I’m sure there are reasons)… and I truly admire anyone that can have their children around them all the time and not hurt them…

but after the packing of lunches, waking teenagers up, making breakfast, doing hair, organizing the days schedule culminates in the glorious moment the yellow school bus arrives to take the children away from me for 7 magical hours…  I almost cry I am so happy… I leisurely pour a cup of coffee and begin the daily routine in blissful silence…

so what if it’s not all that glamorous of a life?   so what if I make the same beds, clean the same toilets and sinks and vacuum the front entryway for the millionth time…

I am alone… with my thoughts or someone else’s playing to me over a podcast on my phone…

the day usually involves getting food out for either lunch or supper or both…  perhaps the weekly chore of making buns…

there is always bookwork to be done and a workout to fit in…

but it’s hard to explain what the quietness of a farm house is like…  there will only be one to two vehicles drive past my yard all morning… both are my neighbours…

the dogs have their routine of eating and then going for their 45 minute morning stroll…

this morning there was a fog outside and it felt cold and dark like the winter here usually does…  you feel like you are allowed to slow down…  because you know that with spring it will be busy again and you will wish that you had slowed down even more in the winter months…

I put a chicken in the sink with water to defrost for later and then got out my weathered soup pot…

tomatoes were getting overripe on the counter and I thought that when the farmer returns around noon I would have a nice bowl of tomato soup for him…

I turned on a podcast and listened as I threw very basic ingredients into a pot…  knowing that the farmer would love the smell when he walks into the house…

after the puree and straining of the soup, almond milk was added and it was all set to eat…

the farmer will get home with the mail for me to sort…  he will on a good day jump on the tread climber… and then we eat…  today will be this creamy delicious soup…

when I met the farmer, 18 years ago, I found a boy that wanted to farm and take care of me…  and I in turn decided at a young age that I wanted to take care of him…  

I realize that some might think I have wasted my life…  staying home and making soup…  not accomplishing a whole lot…

and there are some days where I wonder if there is more I could or should be doing…  other than taking care of the farmer, his farm and his children…

and then I think of our lunch dates…  and wonder what would happen if we didn’t get to have them anymore???

so I keep finding ways to enjoy my quiet farm life here in the winter…  because I have a list of values that my actions need to eventually line up with…  and one of the values is spending quality time eating with the farmer…

tomato almond milk soup

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 4-6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 1/4 tsp red chile flakes
  • 1 tsp dried tarragon leaves
  • 4 cups (or more) chopped tomatoes
  • 4 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
  • 1 cup almond milk (Silk Almond)
  • cracked black pepper to taste

Directions:

  • heat olive oil in soup pot over medium heat
  • saute the onions with 1 tsp salt
  • add the garlic, bay leaves, red chile flakes and tarragon
  • saute 5 more minutes
  • coarsely chop fresh tomatoes
  • add to the soup pot with remaining 1 tsp salt and cook for 10 minutes
  • add stock and bring to a boil
  • reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes
  • remove bay leaves
  • puree the soup
  • strain if you would like no pulp in your soup and return to pot
  • whisk in the almond milk
  • reheat to a simmer
  • before serving, sprinkle with cracked black pepper

coconut milk cauliflower soup

here in Canada there are winter months where cauliflower is so expensive you have to omit other groceries from your shopping list… just to get this item you need for your countless recipes that contain cauliflower… this tasteless vegetable with very little nutritional value is basically in every recipe you see…  and it is pricey!

and so should be treated accordingly…  like a Kardashian…  a Kardashian food item…

if you care to Pinterest cauliflower, it is used as the substitute for basically everything… and just putting it in the title of your recipe will make it seem very healthy…  even if it is drenched in cheese and bacon…

for this soup recipe…  I use it along with some other vegetables to make a soup that my own children said is better than potato soup…

that is saying a lot…  also, if you want to get your metabolism going, eat this soup…

I have found that cooking for my family and the other farmers that I get to cook for has been a combination of all of the reasons people cook…

necessity, creativity, artistry and communion…

if you are lucky, you get one opportunity to connect as a family every day… and it is over your supper meal…  and if your supper meal is cooking with care and love – oh and cauliflower – conversation will ensue…

and when parents and children discuss their day over an excellent bowl of soup with some croutons in it… life happens…

goodness happens… humour happens…

you find out how your children are connecting with the world and with you…

and there are many shortcuts to homemade soup that still are legit…  you are allowed to use pre-cut cauliflower from Costco if it is way cheaper…

and you are allowed to use ginger puree that is canned…

but – never ever use light coconut milk – that is a cardinal sin…

puree all this super food into a pulp and toss some croutons on it and sit down and find out what your children are up to…

or – enjoy it in peace while watching Border Security in a giant t-shirt – by yourself in your bedroom…

whatever floats your boat…

roasted cauliflower soup with coconut milk

Ingredients:

  • 2 small heads or 1 large head cauliflower, cut into medium florets
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 3/4 tsp ground turmeric
  • kosher salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 medium carrots, diced
  • 2-4 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 tsp chili garlic sauce
  • 4 cups chicken broth (more if needed)
  • 1 (15 oz) can full-fat coconut milk
  • 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger (or 1 tsp canned pureed ginger)
  • 1/2 juicy lime, more if needed
  • croutons (optional – as a topping)

Directions:

  • preheat oven to 425 degrees
  • line a sheet pan with parchment paper
  • in a mixing bowl, toss cauliflower, oil, turmeric, salt and pepper
  • roast for 20-25 minutes
  • in a soup pot, add onion, garlic, carrots and celery
  • add chili garlic sauce
  • saute for 10-12 minutes until soft
  • add cauliflower and chicken broth
  • puree with a handheld blender
  • add coconut milk and ginger
  • serve and top with freshly squeezed lime and croutons

outdoor skating rinks 

where it all began… on a frozen pond or lake… kids getting kicked out of the house because their parents were losing their minds in the winter…

and it continues on in many homes in Canada around Christmas time the tradition of everyone skating and playing shinny together…

this is the only time of year that my kids have ever been on an outdoor skating rink… it was Sienna’s first time…  as well as mine…

thank you to the fine residents of Hamptons area of Calgary for having such a lovely outdoor skating rink…

the boys say it sounds different to skate outside… the way their blades hit the ice and the noise it makes is different… crisper… sharper…

fresh air that they are breathing is colder and more invigorating than what they experience in rinks…

and then they all toss their sticks into the middle of the ice…  one by one sticks are pulled out and teams are chosen… rules are you have to hit a post to score… and then this is when you find out what someone is really made of…

a few types of shinny players out there…

the farmer…  who is at a ‘city outdoor rink’ because his wife’s family are city people…  and he has never seen adults (other than his lovely aforementioned wife) who can’t skate…  it is like nothing he has seen before… everyone half-walking, half-stumbling around almost in perfect unison…  slap-shots followed by wipe-outs… and he decides he is not going to go 110%…  he tells himself this has nothing to do with laziness and more to do with compassion for those around him…  we all justify actions in our lives… and the lasagne lunch he’d just attacked like it was his last meal didn’t affect his desire to curl up in a ball and sleep at all… or the fact that he has had his front four teeth replaced a few times and is now uninsured for two of them…

then comes the Asian guy wearing a Datsyuk jersey… he loves hockey and is here every moment he is not watching hockey…  he knows he is out of control and accepts it… and when he toe drags the farmer for the second time he is in his glory… oblivious to the fact that the farmer was still digesting 4 pieces of lasagne that he ate with 4 fake teeth…

then there is Uncle who played hockey until grade 7 and has a bone to pick… unfinished business… and this is the perfect opportunity for him to finish his career well… trash talking and ‘mixing it up’… so ahead of the play there was no need to pass…

your gaze wanders over to Grandpa…  whose helmet and skates are still right out of the early 60’s and you are hoping this isn’t a trip to the emergency room when it is all done…

scoring his eighth goal is the over-competitive 13 year old that is not racking up the points in his regular hockey season and is taking this opportunity to for-go the pleasantries and pocket a few…

one young couple that is newly in love decided to come for a skate and have taken about 7 selfies while on their second lap of the rink… narrowly dodging Datsyuk toe dragging someone… oh wait.. that was me and the farmer… 

the eleven year old hits the cross-bar with a shot that sends the puck flying out of the playing area into a snow bank… everyone stares at each other and it is silently decided upon that the guy still rocking ‘Movember’ with the Forsberg Nordiques jersey on is going to walk across the cement in his skates to retrieve the puck out of the snowbank…

there are at least two guys with beards skating around with the freedom and ease that warm facial hair brings to someone on a cold day…

one girl that is better than most of the boys and still can’t get a pass from anyone…

the Nordiques jersey guy came back after his trek on the cement and proceeded to crash into the boards and then take out a kid…  but that did not slow him down…  he was able to bounce back after every stumble with more resolve to skate harder…

one of the best parts of any outdoor adventure… whether it be skating, tobogganing, cross-country skiing, snow shoeing… is getting back to a house where someone has taken the time to make soup…  preferably with some sort of bread to dip in it…

and this is what we came back to… wonderful squash and peanut soup made by my lovely sister-in-law and the kids all received hot chocolate as well…

this is what makes Christmas so good…

butternut squash and peanut soup

  • Servings: one large pot
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Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 6 tbsp minced ginger (or 2 tsp ground ginger)
  • 4 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 2 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 14 oz (398 mL) can pineapple chunks and juice
  • 6 cups vegetable broth
  • 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped (or 1 14 oz (398 mL) can tomatoes, diced)
  • 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1 bunch cilantro, chopped (or 2 tsp dried cilantro)
  • juice of 2 limes

Directions:

  • in a soup pan, heat oil on medium-high heat and add onions and salt and sauté for a few minutes
  • next, add ginger, garlic and spices
  • lower the heat and sauté until golden
  • add red bell pepper and butternut squash
  • pour in pineapple juice
  • add vegetable broth and cook until squash is tender
  • add pineapples, tomatoes, peanut butter and simmer for 30 minutes
  • add cilantro and lime juice and serve

for the love of chowder

the farmer’s favourite food in the entire world is Chowder …  on our trips to San Francisco and Boston I swear I did not know someone could consume so much milky soup goodness …

he even ordered it at a baseball game

when we first met back in ’98, he went on at length with me about how much he loved clam chowder … that’s when I realized what a ladies man he was… so smooth…

so for our first valentine’s day I asked a friend if I could use her apartment to make a romantic meal for him …

I went to Superstore, picked up Chunky’s New England Clam Chowder (2 cans) and Pillsbury dinner rolls and away I went to my friend’s kitchen to work the magic …

it was quite the process to get the soup out of the can into a pot to heat it up and the dinner rolls curled up, on a  pan and into the oven… but I managed …

with great anticipation he showed up and I watched him consume my masterpiece …  wondering if he was thinking ‘I need to scoop this lil’ lady up before the other gentlemen realize what she’s capable of’

he was very kind and told me how much he loved it …

then I went to his mother’s house on the farm … and she had made clam chowder … and I felt like such a fool … that I had no idea you could make it from scratch …

and he had tried to pretend to be all impressed

I asked him why he didn’t tell me and he said that he had never ate canned soup, with the exception of tomato, in his life … but didn’t want to ruin Valentines so thought it best not to question my culinary skills …

he must have seen potential in me … because I certainly had no idea how to do the things his mother did …

I eventually have figured out his mother’s recipe and make it around our anniversary and valentines every year …

I surprised him at lunch today with a pot of chowder and it is the closest you’ll see him get to tears … he told me what a cold, damp morning he had had fixing an auger and how this soup just made his entire day… perhaps week …

  I never told him that I have it down to under half an hour to make it now I have made it so many times…

 and I listened to him retell the story of the time at Valentines day when I bought canned chowder and fed it to him … he has retold that story every single time I have made the soup for him … but I still listen to it …

one of the joys of being married for almost 16 years is I still enjoy serving him chowder just as much as I did the first time and I know 16 years from now I’ll still be doing the same thing and he’ll still be telling the same story…

and we will be happy and content

(Lord willing)

(my mom always tells me to say that when I am predicting the future)

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tammy's clam chowder

  • Servings: one large pot
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Ingredients:

  • 8 strips thick cut bacon, sliced
  • 2 medium yellow onions, diced
  • 4 stalks celery, diced into small chunks
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 cans (142 g) whole baby clams and liquid
  • 1 cup low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable)
  • 4 cups raw potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • ground black pepper
  • 4 cups homogenized milk
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 cups creamilk or half and half (or homogenized)

Directions:

  • place bacon in a large pot on medium/high heat and cook for 2 minutes
  • strain and return to cooking with onion, celery, green pepper and garlic
  • add bay leaves and clam liquid from the 2 cans
  • add potatoes and chicken broth
  • bring to a boil and reduce to simmering for 10 minutes or until potatoes are barely tender
  • add clams, 2 cups milk and worcestershire sauce
  • mix oil and flour together and stir into the soup until thick
  • add creamilk
  • do not boil
  • stir often and heat just to boiling
  • keeps very well in refrigerator
  • note: I like to cook this first thing in the morning, let it cool, put it in the refrigerator and then get it to to re-heat for supper… the flavours are much deeper after it has sat all day

oprah is moving

Oprah recently told Ellen she is moving… they are neighbours in Santa Barbara… and after some friendly banter over Oprah not giving Ellen produce from her garden… to which Oprah responded that Ellen does not cook… the big move was brought up…

I don’t know if I am alone in finding the conversations of extremely wealthy people interesting and strange… but wow are they in their own little ‘extreme wealth’ world…

reminds me of the episode where Oprah and Gayle take a road trip and Oprah is filling up with gas and commented that she had not gassed up a vehicle since ’83… these comments are only funny to the very rich…

I told a friend tonight that I bought a pair of jeans because they were ‘only’ $160 and she slapped me…  well, she didn’t actually slap me but in her mind she slapped me and then she told me how ridiculous I sounded…

but poor Oprah, she has a friend named Gayle that never tells her how crazy she sounds…

Oprah is moving to Colorado… reason you ask…  Seasons… she misses seasons…

I get this… and I pondered it as I made soup…  the thought did cross my mind that she might be moving to Colorado because California is in the midst of a drought and she is thinking it might be time time to leave…

seasons… why do we need them?  why isn’t someone in constant sun and warmth happy?  why do they need the toil and frustration that comes with the changing of the weather?

it is winter right now here in Canada… thus the soup…  winter means we go around our yard, bring everything in and hide for a few months… literally hide… yes we have to venture out… but while we are out all we can think about is getting back to our couch and wrapped up in a warm Costco blanket and watching Game of Thrones…

then comes spring… along with spring fever… which is brought on due to the fact that we all take off the bulky winter clothing and put on shorts and a tank top and go out in barely above freezing weather…  and attempt to mate with anything moving… it’s not something anyone would want to document but it is the way of life for those dealing with seasons…

summer… 2 brief months for those of us in Canada… where daylight hours are valuable… and you spend 13 hours on a boat because you know the hot, hazy days are fleeting…

then comes fall… otherwise known as harvest… the season of garden produce, mosquitoes dying, halloween, leaves changing colour, getting rid of your kids to school, football, hunting…  actually I think this is my favourite season…

I get you Oprah… problem is Ellen grew up in New Orleans and Oprah lived in Chicago… we crave what we know…

if you’ve known winter, you can’t appreciate summer without it…

similar to if you’ve known heartbreak, you appreciate love on a different level…

navy bean soup with kale and tomatoes

  • Servings: one large pot
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Ingredients:

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 yellow onions, chopped
  • 3 large carrots, chopped
  • 1 tbsp herbes de provence
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 5 Roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 gurgles of white wine
  • 1 (398 mL or 14 oz) can of navy beans, strained and rinsed
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth, low sodium
  • 4 large kale leaves, thinly sliced, stems removed
  • 4 thick slices of stale ciabatta bread, cubed
  • balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
  • parmesan cheese, for topping
  • sea salt and black pepper

Directions:

  • heat oil in a large pot over medium heat
  • add onion and pinches of salt and pepper, cook for 5 minutes
  • add chopped carrots, herbes de provence (or rosemary) and garlic, cook for 5 more minutes
  • add tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and more salt and pepper, cook for 10 minutes
  • add 2 gurgles of white wine, beans and broth, cook for 20 minutes or until carrots are soft
  • add kale, cubed bread and drizzle with balsamic vinegar
  • simmer until kale is wilted
  • serve with shaved parmesan cheese on top

roasted butternut squash soup and curry condiments

I was grocery shopping tonight…  making use of my time while my sons were at hockey practices… and realized every fall season you always walk past a big display of squashes…  and it makes you happy… and it makes you wish that grocery stores would have little signs with a link you could go to online to find a recipe on what to do with the squash once you get it home… other than decorate your house with it…

luckily… I have just about every cookbook that Ina Garten has written and she is my link… page 70-71 of ‘back to basics’ will tell you exactly what to do with a butternut squash… and I can guarantee every recipe in her book you can cook… and tastes good…

this particular Ina Garten recipe is called ‘roasted butternut squash soup and curry condiments’…  and it is perfect and the best thing to eat when it is damp and cold and the sun has not shone in six days…

it is simple and can easily be made in a jiffy… if a jiffy is all the amount of time that you have to make soup…

oh… and her soup looks prettier than mine… just go to her website and check it out… she is my hero…

roasted tomato carrot soup

this morning a friend texted me and wanted me to go to Costco with her… I generally never turn down a trip to Costco but I am a tad bit under the weather today and cannot make it…  I took this picture last week when I was there at 9:47 am Thursday morning and the carts where all getting set to make a mad dash when the doors open… it was funny because you’d think we’d all be happy… we all got good parking spots, the weather was nice… but there was this tension in the air… like ‘I’m going to be polite but not too polite…”  and “you better have your membership card ready to go” …

since I couldn’t make the trip to Costco with my friend… I did what any good friend would do and asked her to ‘pick up a few things for me’…  this is a nice way of letting your friend know that your time is more valuable than her time and that you really don’t mind treating her like you are paying her to be your personal assistant…  I just wanted her to pick up a Teddy Bear for me… if she had the room…

so the reason the 13 year old and I were at Costco last week is because he had to get braces… and then the wire on his braces broke off… which I’m now learning from other moms out there who have kids with braces is a common occurrence…  and that not only are braces expensive, your kid ends up missing a lot of school to get them tightened, fixed, tweaked, repaired…

so I told him the upside of him being dumb someday because of all the school he missed is the fact that he’ll be gorgeous with his pearly whites all lined up in a row…

I know I’m not the only one that thinks the world needs more dumb, pretty people…

 

so after-school snacks are now either smoothies or soups…  because the poor guy’s mouth looks like Jaws and he is still on a mainly liquid diet…

roasted tomato carrot soup

  • Servings: 1 pot of soup
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Ingredients:

  • 12 roma tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 4 large carrots, washed, not peeled and cut into chunks
  • 2 white onions, cut up
  • olive oil
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • ground black pepper
  • 4 cups vegetable stock

Directions:

  • preheat oven to 400 degrees
  • line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  • place tomatoes, skin still on, on baking sheet
  • add carrots and onions and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper
  • roast for 45 minutes
  • let cool and peel the tomatoes
  • pour into a large soup pot and add vegetable stock
  • with a emulsion blender, blend the soup until it is smooth
  • serve with cream


his orthodontic place is kitty-corner to a Starbucks…  so yes, the braces just got more expensive…